


Comforting Dusk

by Wallagen



Category: Kirby (Video Games)
Genre: Allusion to loss, Anxiety, F/F, Stargazing, fwuiendhsueieipp uwu
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:42:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27669034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wallagen/pseuds/Wallagen
Summary: What respite to find on a bench at midnight.
Relationships: Francisca/Susie | Susanna Patrya Haltmann
Kudos: 10





	Comforting Dusk

Susie wasn’t feeling super great. Not that she was ill or anything, she just felt tired. She had been for the last fifteen hours ever since she woke up at four in the morning, and for once coffee wasn’t really working. She had tried to kick herself back into activity by looking at several unfinished drafts of blueprints, but any more than twenty minutes never passed before her forced creative spurt petered out and made her crumble the papers together and throw botched shots at the trash can. Somehow not being stressed was stressing her out. Maybe she needed to respirate a little. A common piece of advice on Popstar and planets like it was that getting some “fresh air” was supposed to clear up your mind and let you relax a little. Susie usually worked indoors when invading such planets, tied up with necessary paperwork and research. She barely got chances to soak in naturally clean oxygen before it was polluted and destroyed by the company’s standard procedure. Now she had all the time in the world to experience in the pleasantries of nature, or whatever people made it out to be. “Plenty of time.” She scoffed. Her father would be jealous of such a privilege. Or maybe he’d be proud, who knows. 

Finally, she decided to push herself out of the door of the portable pavilion she had brought in, making sure to dress herself somewhat warmly in a fancy jacket and a cute fur cap. ‘Only the best,’ she told herself as she avoided her reflection in the mirror. It was around eight o’clock and the last light of the sun had settled not too long ago, but that was fine for Susie. It just meant that less people were out to see her. Not that the natives of Popstar weren’t all nice and welcoming, it was just a tad too overbearing for what a scientific businesswoman like her was used to. She made it out of town relatively quickly, only turning a few corners before following the lamppost-lit pathway out towards the green hills. She wondered how far the pathway stretched, figuring that finding out at least gave her something to do, as dull of a daily accomplishment that was. Nighttime here was quiet, something unusual to her. Everything on this side of the planet had gone to bed, now being covered in the dusky blanket of dreams that made the vibrant hillsides look dark, yet content. She envied that, she supposed. 

Eventually she came across something that piqued her interest. Just a bench. But a seat and some stargazing sounded theoretically “cozy,” again according to the natives. Maybe they just didn’t have anything better to do out here. She sat down and then took a deep breath, trying to take in the fresh air she came here for. It was cold. It tickled her nostrils, even. She hoped doing this wouldn’t give her a brain freeze, like when she used to eat ice cream in great excitement when she was young. And then she was just right back where she started. Tired about life, bored, and now cold on top of it all. A valiant effort of her to move out into new territory to discover the gift of caring about something, but an unsuccessful journey at that. For someone leading a company valued in the multi-vigintillions, she wasn’t very good at getting invested. 

Something was suddenly moving out in the corner of her sight. Looking down the tiled path towards the hills, she saw the trace of a silhouette moving down the road in the darkness. It was coming her way, getting closer to the illuminating cone of light from the lamp post by the bench. As it looked over in her direction, it managed to startle itself a little, not having noticed Susie sitting there.

“Oh, hello! I wasn’t expecting anyone else here at this time of night.” Said the figure as it moved into the light. Susie recognized them. 

“Hey.” She waved. “Your name’s Francisca, right?”

“Indeed. And you would be Susie, correct?” She gave Francisca a nod to that, then tilted her head a little at her. 

“You’re out here on a stroll right now? I mean, not that I’m one to talk I guess.”

“Yes, I quite like the chill of the night. It reminds me of my home planet.” The ice mage said as she gazed somewhat longingly into the night sky. “Would you mind if I sat next to you?”

“Not at all.” 

Giving Susie a small, thankful bow, Francisca approached the bench and took the seat next to Susie’s. Now that she had someone to talk with, Susie wouldn’t miss out on an opportunity to cure her boredom and tried to show some courteous curiosity. “What’s your home planet like?”

“It’s very much an arctic environment. You would have to travel quite far towards its equator to not find snow in the summer, and the winters can be quite unwelcoming to those not native of it. And yet there’s a beauty to it that I can’t place. I find myself returning to it quite often.” Francisca said with a nostalgic smile, a smile that widened as she enthusiastically returned the question. She really seemed like a night-time person.

“How is your home planet, Susie?”

Susie shrugged, looking away. “I… don’t think I have one. I was born on a travelling vessel, I think.” 

“Oh, I see. Interesting.” Added Francisca. 

“Sure.” Said Susie dismissively. She didn’t think much of it. She didn’t even remember if it was right. Most of her childhood was a blur, much to her chagrin. It was what she wanted to forget that remained crystal clear in her head, never truly leaving her alone with the thoughts she wanted. A part of her wanted to go home, but another didn’t want to start walking away and be left alone with the bad memories that were starting to creep in. It wasn’t just boredom she wanted to keep at bay anymore. But no topic was coming to mind, nothing in her racing head that she could latch on to and use to claw herself out of the impending panic attack. Thankfully, the chilled mood of the night was making the former frozen general quite talkative.

“To think this is all what some people get to see of space.” Francisca pondered as she gazed up. “All they ever get is their own landscape canvas of stars, never to travel them.” Susie followed Francisca’s line of sight and took her own look at the shimmering skyline of celestial bodies up above. Sure, it looked pretty, as pretty as adding glittery stickers to a teenager’s diary, but she never really got the chance to see it as the spectacle that others often depicted it as. 

“Honestly, I think the novelty wears off pretty fast.” She said. “It’s just the same types of systems over and over again, with nothing noteworthy in between.” 

“I suppose I can understand where you’re coming from.” Francisca admitted. “As for me, the endless corners of space never cease to amaze me.”

Susie hated space. It was too vast and empty for her, too easy to be swept away and get lost without a trace. As much as she tried denying it daily, she had never stopped feeling lost, even in the years after she came back from the space between worlds. Sometimes it even felt like she never made it out of there. It made her downright anxious to think that no matter where she was, space surrounded her. It encroached her existentially. A long, shaky breath fell out of her, one that she tried to mask as simple sensitivity to the cold. Hopefully it wasn’t too obvious.

“…Have you ever witnessed an aurora before, Susie?” Francisca suddenly asked. 

“Only from orbit.” Susie recalled. “I haven’t read much about geomagnetism, but they look cool.” 

Francisca nodded. She then looked up at the stars once again, this time with more of a pensive expression adorning her face. “I used to gaze at the auroras with those of my kin. To us, it was a sign that the sky was alive, and thus us in turn.” She let out a quiet sigh, taking a few seconds to continue. Susie had seen the look in Francisca’s eyes before, recognizing it from her own.

“Then one day I lost them all. Every last one of us, wiped away by the merciless blizzard. Had I been older and weighed more, I would have sunken in and been buried in the snow with the rest. I may not have been found then that day.” Francisca kept a hand to her heart as she recollected. Thinking about it didn’t hurt so much anymore, yet some pain would always remain with her, faded as it was. Despite staying silent, Susie was listening intently too. It felt awful that she had nothing to say back. It felt awful that she related so hard. 

“… Apologizes, I didn’t intend to disturb you with that tale.” Said Francisca. 

“No, it’s alright, I just…” She sighed, then bit her lip. “I’ve had a lot on my mind that’s like that.” She didn’t really know how to put it, never considering the prospect of having to put her own loss into words like this. But a part of her figured she at least owed her bench buddy an attempt. “I’ve lost someone dear to me too, one that I just couldn’t… reach in time. And now it’s too late.” It felt like she should be crying by now, but no tears fell. Instead, there was just a pervasive, hollow feeling in her chest, making her feel isolated. But Francisca nodded at her, understanding. 

“…When I look at the auroras now, I am reminded of those I used to know. In that regard, they will always be with me, alive in me.” It took Susie a bit to realize Francisca was looking her way as she spoke. It confused her a little, but it wasn’t unwelcome. In a way, it was almost soothing. “To make amends with those who have passed, you must first make amends with your own past. That’s what helped me get through things.” 

“I don’t even know what to do with my future.” Susie muttered. A poignant silence permeated through the cold air. She hadn’t even figured out what to do in her present. All she had ever known was a fight for survival or following a checklist of orders. Now she was going through none of the sort. Once she had been temporarily situated here in Dream Land, she had gotten stuck, not knowing where to go next. She had no template to build off, no pattern to follow. All she had was the terrifying prospect of turning back towards the center of the galaxy and inheriting a company she never wanted to exist. Then Francisca spoke again. 

“Have you ever thought of settling down?”

“Psh, what, like, getting married?” Susie asked surprised, with a raised eyebrow to boot. Francisca was quick to throw up her hands in embarrassed defense.   
“No no! Just… Staying on one planet for a bit, having a place to call home. I’ve found that it is quite comforting.” 

“Right. You live here with your sisters, right?”

“As of recently, yes. Admittedly, it’s been a little wilder than I had imagined. Flamberge can be a little loud, and Zan’s personal research can be a little disruptive and confusing, but I’m enjoying it nonetheless. It finally feels like we’re… A family, you know? It feels nice to have that again.”

Family, Susie thought to herself. A foreign concept to her at this point, or more so an old dream. She had given up on those a while back, wishes never came true without a cost. Things seemed different here though. Maybe there was something to Dream Land that made goals easier to realize, something to this world that looked over its denizens and rewarded their resilience with peace. Her time here had been short, and yet she couldn’t see herself leaving. Could she call Popstar a home? Maybe not yet, but she’d be willing to do what she had to until she could. It was a nice thought, at least. To have a goal, a dream again. Things certainly felt less gloomy with an acquaintance that understood. 

“Oh, sorry for talking your ear off for so long.” Francisca excused somewhat flustered. “I don’t want to keep you here all night.”

“Actually, would you mind if I stayed a little?” Asked Susie. 

“Not at all.” Francisca beamed. She couldn’t remember the last time she had a genuine conversational partner. “But please, don’t freeze out here on my behalf.” 

“I’ll be alright, I have a heater in my jacket I can turn on.” Susie added with a wink. And until the sun crept up on them, they talked about the many planets they had been to all night.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading ^^ Hope you enjoyed it! Feel free to leave a comment, they are very appreciated <3


End file.
